


Everything We Lack

by a_big_world_out_there



Series: Heroism Is Never Forgotten [1]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Child Abuse, Childhood Friends, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Link (Legend of Zelda) Needs a Hug, Nonbinary Link (Legend of Zelda), Prequel, Selectively Mute Link (Legend of Zelda)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-18 17:55:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29372685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_big_world_out_there/pseuds/a_big_world_out_there
Summary: Maybe I shouldn't be trying to run two series at once but here I am. Prequels are usually hit-or-miss but this one isn't going to be updated as often as creating a champion. There's something kinda magical about staying up late at a campfire with friends and still waking up early the next morning. It's honestly the only time I can say I sleep well.
Relationships: Link/Linkle (Legend of Zelda)
Series: Heroism Is Never Forgotten [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2014102
Kudos: 2





	Everything We Lack

The fresh night air felt good against Linkle's skin. A warm breeze blew through the quiet streets of Hateno village. Summer in Hateno has always been her favorite time of the year, but she was finding it difficult to enjoy the pleasant night weather after what had just happened. Her legs carried her towards the entrance to the village, towards the woods. She walked along absentmindedly, not caring where her legs took her. Anywhere away from home would suffice for the moment being. Crickets chirped and frogs croaked. A cacophony of sounds filled her ears as she got deeper into the thicket of trees. 

_"You're acting irrationally Linkle. How can you expect to get your point across if you get this emotional all the time?"_ Her father's voice rang in her mind. _"This just proves you're too immature to become a knight. Just stay home with your mother. That kind of work is much better suited for you than knighthood."_ He seemed hellbent on keeping Linkle from enrolling in the Royal Knight's Academy, though Linkle never understood why. Rannell, her older brother, would be enrolling later this same year. She would be eligible in two. It wasn't fair. Neither of them had any real combat experience and Linkle believed she didn't have any qualities that would keep her from being successful. 

Linkle wanted to scream in frustration, but she didn't want to disturb any of the animals. Besides, it would be rather unbecoming to scream randomly in the middle of the woods. Still, knowing that didn't lessen any of her frustration. _What does Rannell have that I don't?_

She found herself paralyzed by the idea of being stuck in Hateno for the rest of her life. Most people from the village never left once they settled down, but that wouldn't be Linkle. A vast and sprawling kingdom was out there just waiting to be explored. The lands beyond the tiny borders of Hateno Village seemed to be calling to her. Linkle saw the Academy as her ticket out. Knighthood wasn't the only path after graduating, either. Graduating from the Academy would give Linkle the skillset she needed to go out into the world and explore to her heart's content. Once she graduated, she was gone. _Maybe I'll even travel beyond the borders of our kingdom. We have neighbors to the north and the east. There are a few island nations that border us to the south as well._

Maybe the difference lay in their values. Both Rannell and her father both valued the old ideas of chivalry and honor. An outdated system if you asked Linkle. She never cared about such abstract ideas when there was so much that was already at their fingertips. Choosing to be tied down by an artificial sense of duty and responsibility didn't make sense. 

Before long, Linkle found herself deep into the woods, a good distance from the village. She stumbled into a clearing and lay down in the cool grass. She shivered and pulled her thin cloak tighter around her shoulders. It wasn't that cold out, but she had always been sensitive to cold temperatures. High above her, stars twinkled brightly. The moon cast down cool beams of light that made the clearing look somewhat ethereal. At times like these Linkle could understand why people would go to such great lengths to study the stars. 

Somewhere off in the distance, Linkle suddenly smelled smoke and she bolted to her feet. _A forest fire? No. The sky would change if there was a forest fire. Who could be starting a campfire at this time at night?_

Following the rising pillar of smoke, Linkle was reassured to see that it was just someone's campfire in another clearing. Stones had been propped up to form a makeshift fire circle. A small creek gurgled quietly nearby. Most of the area around the fire was cleared from any sticks or needles that could catch. _Whoever set this up knows what they're doing at least_ , Linkle noted. The strangest thing about the whole scene was that there was no tent and the person who started the fire was absent. 

"Who are you?" 

Linkle jumped at the sound of the voice and whipped around to see a Hylian slightly taller than herself with long blond hair pulled into a loose ponytail. Their hand rested loosely on the hilt of their sword on their left hip. On their right was a quiver full of arrows and a bow slung over their back. 

"You're... your Mr. Kingsley's kid!" She shouted, jumping back. "The prodigy swordsman!" 

"I'm not- I'm not, I'm just me you know?" They shrugged somewhat helplessly. 

"Oh, sorry. Link right?" Linkle bowed apologetically. "I'm Linkle." She stuck out her hand and Link shook it. 

"Why are you out here?" 

"I could ask you the same thing." 

"Training," Link muttered. They didn't meet Linkle's eyes and shifted their weight. 

" _At this hour?_ " Linkle asked incredulously. _This isn't just some joke?_ She studied Link carefully. Nothing about them seemed anything out of the ordinary, though they were better-equipped for the coldness of the night than she was. 

Everything about the whole encounter seemed wrong. _What kind of training are they doing in the middle of the night? This isn't right. Maybe it's someone's twisted idea of punishment. Still, that's not right._ Not even Linkle's father was harsh enough to send either of them out into the woods in the middle of the night, even during the summertime. She was sure her mother would probably never let him see the end of it even if he did do something like that. 

Cool wind blew through the clearing and the campfire flickered and Linkle shivered, still wishing she had the forethought to bring something warmer. Link rushed over and threw some more sticks on it and motioned for her to join them by the fire. The warmth washed over her body and Linkle almost immediately started to feel better. 

"It's not that cold. Why are you shivering?" Link asked curtly. _They don't mince words,_ She thought to herself. 

Linkle tilted her head. "I've always been kinda sensitive to the cold. Heat doesn't bother me as much." The question of what Link was doing out here in the first place still burned in the back of her mind. She knew that it wasn't good to pry, but eventually, her curiosity got the better of her. "What exactly did you mean by 'training'? I can't imagine what could be gained by staying out here, especially without any supplies. Where's your tent or cooking pot?" 

"Survival. Hunting prey, learning which plants are good to eat and which aren't, finding clean water, becoming completely self-reliant." Link shrugged. _They shrug a lot_ , Linkle noted. _Are they really that indifferent about all of this?_ "My father, he's very... _insistent_ that I learn these things the 'natural way'. He leaves me out here for days on end, maybe even weeks. I don't keep track. I'm not allowed to return to the village until he comes and gets me, which could basically be any time he feels like." They seemed incredibly resigned to this treatment, which Linkle found even more appalling. 

"That- that's horrible," She breathed. 

"Well, it is what it is. I can't do anything about it." Link's stomach growled and they stood, brushing the dirt off their pants. "I need to go hunting." 

"Now?" 

"Food isn't going to make itself. You can stay there if you want or you can stay." Link took the bow off their shoulder and nocked an arrow. "But I suggest you head back to the village." 

"H-hey!" Linkle shot to her feet. "You're not gonna hit anything if you go hunting like that. It's more effort to keep your arrow nocked while walking than it is to just have your bow at the ready when you spot your prey." She threw some more wood on the fire and strode over to Link. "Here, how about I try and get a bird or something and you can forage. I'd feel bad for just going home without helping at least a little bit." 

"I can't ask you to do that," Link stuttered, stepping back. "Besides, I'll be fine on my own." 

Without saying a thing, Linkle swiped the bow from Link's hands and grabbed a couple of arrows from thier quiver. "You don't have to do everything alone. Despite what your father might think, no one can be completely self-sufficient. Do you have a knife? I don't think preparing meat with a sword will go very well." Link silently handed her a sheath with a knife in it and she secured it to her belt. "I'll meet you back here once I've got something." 

* * *

Hunting at night wasn't something Linkle had ever tried before, but she figured it couldn't be too different from hunting during the daytime. The moon was bright and the night air was starting to get colder. Now that she was away from the fire, Linkle was really wishing that she had something warmer to wear. Shadows normally obscured most of the sun's rays when hunting during the daytime anyway. Learning to determine shadows from swaying trees and an animal darting through the underbrush was a skill she had picked up from her older brother. Rannell would take her hunting during the summer, despite their father arguing against it. 

At night, most birds would be asleep. _Maybe I can get one from its nest_ , Linkle thought as she crept through the underbrush. Her eyes scanned across the tops of trees and along the ground ahead of her. Not five yards ahead of her she spotted a quail nest tucked into a mess of sticks and tall grass. The sound of water would mask her footsteps crunching through the grass. _If I'm quiet enough I won't even have to shoot it_. Linkle slung the bow over her shoulder and crept forward with extended hands. She could see the quail inside. Without waking it up, she reached in and grabbed the bird. It woke with a start, flapping its wings and struggling. In one quick movement, she snapped its neck with a loud _crack_ and the bird went limp in her hands. 

_One probably isn't going to be enough for the both of us._ After that, Linkle found another quail nest and killed it the same way she killed the first one. She retraced her steps until she could see the smoke from the campfire still rising into the hair. She was suddenly struck by a strange sense of self-consciousness. Most people would find it unusual that a girl her age could so nonchalantly kill two birds with her own hands. It was always just a natural part of the circle of life. Then she realized that Link used to have to do this all themself and wouldn't think she was weird. 

The campsite was vacant when she returned. She set the birds down and went about finding more branches and wood for the fire before throwing it in a pile nearby. Then she got to work plucking the feathers off the quail. Normally she'd dunk them into hot water a few times before plucking the birds, but Link didn't have a pot and she didn't have a way to boil water. Linkle was halfway through her first bird when she heard footsteps. 

"You actually got some," Link noted, surprised. They set down their pouch and pulled out some mushrooms and apples. They set some very red mushrooms next to the fire to start toasting. "There's not much in the way of foraging around here. Animals got to most of the good stuff already." 

"What, did you think I wouldn't be able to get anything?" Linkle asked, not looking up from her work. She brushed feathers off her lap and took out Link's knife. Without flinching, she twisted the quail's head and started cutting it off. Link watched her wordlessly. "Are you gonna say something or are you just gonna watch me?" Blood splattered across her hands and clothes. 

Link waved their hands frantically. "No! It's nothing like that I promise! I'm just kinda surprised that you're so OK with killing and preparing prey. Most people aren't comfortable with

"My brother takes me hunting," Linkle replied. The quail's head came off cleanly and she dropped it next to her in the pile of feathers. Blood splattered on her hands but she managed to keep it off her clothes. "Do you wanna keep the guts or not? I'm fine with gutting the birds, though I'm not sure what we could do with them if you wanted to keep them. Normally my brother uses them as fish bait but it doesn't look like there are many good places to fish around here and you don't have a fishing rod." 

"Just dump the guts farther out from the clearing." Link motioned towards the creek. Linkle nodded and went to gut the quail. It was a messy process, but she got it done and dumped the guts and organs into the creek and they slowly started to wash away. She plunged her hands into the freezing water and rinsed some of the blood off before returning to the fire. Link had set up a makeshift spit and was sharpening a stick. They had pulled the mushrooms away from the fire. The mushrooms had browned nicely. 

"Eat those," Link said, taking the bird from Linkle and skewering it on the spit. They set it over the fire to start cooking. "They'll keep you warmer. I always have them on hand in the winter."

Hesitantly, Linkle brought one to her lips and took a small bite. An earthy flavor filled her mouth and warmth immediately started spreading through her body. She ate the rest of the mushrooms quickly as warmth spread through her veins. Everything from her fingertips to her toe tips was warm. Even though the night was significantly colder, she didn't feel it anymore. Link smiled, firelight reflecting in their eyes and turned the spit. 

"Pretty cool, right?" Link asked. Linkle nodded enthusiastically. She noticed how much warmer Link's tone had become, though she didn't think much of it. "Sometimes I'm still surprised at how much nature gives us right at our fingertips. You just need to know where to look." They handed her the knife and she got to work plucking the second quail and cleaning it out. Link took the first bird off the spit and speared the second on it. 

Link took the bird and tore a chunk of meat off and handed it to Linkle, who downed it and ate it in one big bite. It wasn't exactly what most people would call high-class dining, but it's not like that matters when you're out in the woods. She lay down in the grass and stared at the stars. A bright spot trailed across the sky. 

"Make a wish," Link said quietly, causing Linkle to look at them. 

"You wish on stars too?" Linkle asked. 

"Sometimes. My mother used to tell me that wishing on a star sends a prayer to Hylia directly, though I'm still not sure how much I believe her." Link spoke fondly despite their sad expression. "Father tells me there's no point in praying to something we can't even see. He thinks the king is full of shit." 

The comment makes Linkle giggle. "That's an interesting take for a knight to have." She hums. "Both my parents are pretty devout. I have a hard enough time believing in the old legends to really believe in any goddesses. I mean the last mentions of any ancient evils are tens of thousands of years old at this point. Wishing on stars is more of a promise to yourself, you know?" 

Instead of continuing to talk, the pair opted to eat the second quail in silence and observe the stars some more. Another star shot silently across the sky and Linkle made another silent promise: _I will get out of here one day_. She never thought silence could feel this comfortable. Only the sounds of wild animals and the crackling of the fire could be heard. An atmosphere like this could never exist at her house. The warm firelight mixed with the cool moonlight, creating a stark contrast between the sky and the ground where she and Link lay. 

Eventually, her eyelids started to feel heavy and she allowed herself to close her eyes. It wasn't long before she drifted off to peaceful sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe I shouldn't be trying to run two series at once but here I am. Prequels are usually hit-or-miss but this one isn't going to be updated as often as creating a champion. There's something kinda magical about staying up late at a campfire with friends and still waking up early the next morning. It's honestly the only time I can say I sleep well.


End file.
